Darkness and Light

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

(John 8:12, NIV)

            Sin loves to hide and grow in dark places where there is no illuminating light to shine truth onto the darkness. That is why, as Bonhoeffer elaborates, it is essential that within the Christian community, believers should “confess [their] sins to each other and pray for each other so that [they] may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16, NIV). Bonhoeffer explains that so often, we are ashamed of our sin, and we believe the lie that no other person is struggling. When we live out of this belief the results are that “we remain alone with our sin, trapped in lies and hypocrisy, for we are in fact sinners” (87). When we are brave enough to confess our sin to a fellow believer, light shines into our darkness which leads to forgiveness.

            I lived and worked at a summer camp for 8 months over two different summers. One of the activities I did was lead campers on night hikes. When we started the night hike, all of the kids and counselors would gather on the porch with flashlights in hand, ready to explore the woods. However, much to their dismay, I would inform them that the first rule of the night hike was no flashlights. After the initial trepidation and groans dissipated, we began our hike. Because I was familiar with the property of the camp, I was able to effectively lead without a flashlight as well. The purpose of the night hike was to help the children, many who were from urban settings, to understand the wonder of nature at night. We would do different activities which would teach lessons. One of my favorite lessons was about light and darkness. While I did not use a flashlight to guide the hike, I did bring one along to use for certain activities. After we would walk for a little while, we would all gather around, and I would turn the flashlight on. The kids would shriek at how bright the light was because their eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. I would point the beam of light into the darkness and invite the kids to look. I would explain that while we were surrounded by darkness, the beam that the light was casting was dispelling all of the darkness. There was absolutely no darkness to be found in that beam of light. I explained to the kids that it is the same way with God and Satan. Just like darkness and light cannot coexist, Satan cannot be present where the light of God is illuminating. It is the same way when we confess our sins. The darkness needs to flea as the light of God penetrates it.

            Bonhoeffer goes on to explain that when sin is illuminated through confession, the sinner finds forgiveness and freedom. They are no longer alone in their sin, but “Now the sinner stands in the community of sinners who live by the grace of God in the cross of Jesus Christ” (89). That is the beauty of confessing to one another in the body of Christ. We are reminded that we are all sinners who are saved by the blood and cross of Jesus. Because of this, we do not need to fear sin, but we can have victory over sin. May we encourage one another daily to confess our sins and to live in the freeing knowledge that we are justified and redeemed children of God.